Beyond the Stars
by reaper with no name
Summary: Misaki, Suou, Mao, and Hei each deal with the aftermath of the events of season 2 in their own ways.
1. Misaki

It had been almost three months since Izanagi and Izanami met. A significant portion of Tokyo was now in the grip of the U.N. Naturally, the government had been crying foul about the violation of its sovereignty. However, it had no allies on which to call for support. Every nation in the world wanted Gate technology, and none of them trusted Japan to share.

Misaki Kirihara had begun settling into her new life as one of the heads of the "New Syndicate". Between Kobayashi's assets in Japan and Oreille's resources abroad, they had significant influence in both the political and strategic arenas. Thus far, they had been utilizing them to exert pressure on the occupying nations. They all knew it wouldn't work on its own, but as Mao once pointed out, they also had public opinion on their side.

But truth be told, none of that truly mattered to Misaki. She was far more interested in the past than the present. Or rather, a man from the past.

A knock at the door shook Misaki from her thoughts.

"Miss Kirihara?" a somewhat distracted female voice uttered from behind the speckled gray door. "the reports you asked for are here, but the man who delivered them says he has to give them to you personally."

"That's fine," Misaki answered without getting up from her desk. "Send him in. And stop calling me 'Miss'; it makes me feel old…" she added with a bit of annoyance.

The door opened, and a somewhat overweight man holding a manila folder entered.

"Saito, it's really not necessary for you to do this every time."

He immediately straightened his posture. "Yes, I know, but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry!"

"Even though you're always sorry for imposing afterward?" Misaki remarked in a lecturing tone.

Saito appeared to sweat bullets as he tried and failed to come up with a reply.

"Calm down, Saito, it's a joke," she finally added. It was a lie, of course, but he didn't deserve to be mocked like that. "So, the report?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah! Here you go."

Saito rapidly crossed the room and handed her the envelope. As she opened it and skimmed through its contents, his gaze swept across the desk and walls of the room. Both were bare save for the most minimal of work materials.

"Uh…Excuse me for saying so, but isn't it about time you decorated this place somewhat? You know, make it more…'you'?"

"Mm hm," she replied as her eyes flitted across the lines of text. She was clearly not paying attention.

Eventually, he gave up and waited for her to finish reading, passing the time by memorizing the patterns of wooden grains on her desk.

"So, this is all the information we have on the new Gate?" Misaki finally asked.

"Yes. For the moment, anyway."

"I see. What about Izanagi and Izanami?"

"That CIA contact we have says that Izanagi's body was found deceased at the center of the Gate, along with the body of a young girl who looked just like him and a-"

"Young blond boy," she finished.

So, those two had died as well...

"…Yes," he confirmed with surprise. "But for some reason, no one is able to get near the bodies."

"Why?"

Saito shook his head. "That's all he gave us. No idea of Izanami's whereabouts, either, or if she's even still around."

"And the rumors about the Child at the Gate?"

"Still just rumors. Nothing solid yet."

"I see. Thank you, Saito."

By this point, he had learned that was a code phrase for "Thank you; you can go now," so she was surprised when he suddenly blurted out "You know, the old gang is getting together for drinks later. You know, to celebrate Yutaka and Mayu's engagement. You should come along and catch up. They all want to know how you've been doing."

She stared at him for a moment. What on Earth was that man always so nervous about?

"I'm sorry, Saito, but I can't," she lied. "I have too much work to do here tonight."

"Oh. My apologies, then." Saito couldn't hide his disappointment as he turned to leave.

Misaki stood. "Saito, wai-"

But the door had already closed behind him. Oh, well, she'd just have to apologize to him next time.

And so she sat back down in her office chair and thought back on the new information she had, particularly the fate of those two children.

"So that's what happened to you two…" she remarked sadly. They had been so young, and had so much to live for.

"I wonder…Were you there for her at the end, Li? Was there anything you could have done? Do the memories of the people you couldn't save haunt you?"

The Black Reaper invaded her thoughts when she was in mourning. It was cruelly appropriate.

The ringing phone brought her back to reality.

"Hey, Misaki," came the teasing voice she had gotten used to. "Just calling to make sure you're going to the big outing tonight."

"Kanami? You're going too?" Misaki said in shock. "But I thought you were always busy at the observatory these days."

"Even I can find time to relax once in a while. You should try it sometime."

"I do too relax!" Misaki protested.

"Oh? When was the last time you went shopping without me dragging you to a store?"

"Look, it doesn't matter," Misaki explained. "I have too much work to do tonight, and-"

"Work, work, work," Kanami repeated. "That's all you ever do these days. You're going to break down at this rate. You know what you need? You need to go on a big shopping spree, eat a ton of stuff you'll regret the next day, and maybe meet a handsome foreign man who will make you forget all your troubles."

"What?!" Misaki flushed. "Where did that come from?"

"Come on, be honest," Kanami pressed. "When was the last time you had a date?"

"Well…" Misaki stalled.

"It's time to move on."

"What?"

"He's gone. He disappeared with that Doll. You said it yourself. Getting hung up over the people you've lost won't help; it'll just isolate you from the people you have left."

Misaki said nothing.

"So, I expect to see you show up tonight, got it? Otherwise, I'll tell them about the dress I got you to wear that one time…" Kanami threatened.

"You wouldn't!" Misaki gasped. The memory was embarrassing enough with only the two of them knowing about it. If others learned of it…

"Wouldn't I?"

"Kanami, if you're serious, I swear I'll…"

"So, ciao!" she replied cheerfully before hanging up.

Misaki sighed. Despite the threat of utter humiliation hanging over her head, her thoughts were still focused on Li…Er, BK201.

She knew he wasn't coming back. She had come to terms with that fact long ago. What she couldn't grasp was why.

Why did he choose that Doll over her? She had all the advantages, didn't she? She could have given him anything he needed. If he needed to hide, she could have provided any number of sanctuaries, probably with police protection included. If he required money, she had more than enough. And if he wanted someone to talk to, she could have held a conversation far better than any Doll. So what was it about this Doll? Surely Li wasn't simply the type who preferred younger women?

"No! No! It's not that!" she blurted out, giving both her cheeks a light slap for emphasis.

But still…

On a whim, she rummaged through the Syndicate files that Mao had provided her until she found the one she was looking for.

"Yin: A Doll of Scandinavian descent. Uses water as a medium. Blind. Met the Black Reaper when he was assigned to her team three years ago."

That was right around the time Misaki herself first met him, so it couldn't have been a matter of timing. Then what was it?

"Disappeared with him after the Tokyo explosion. Remained with him until the awakening of Izanami began."

What was the reason?

"Disappeared with him once again after the meeting of Izanami and Izanagi."

What did that Doll have that she didn't?

"Current whereabouts unknown."

Her shoulders slumped. Did she ever even have a chance?

Dropping the file, she looked out her window at the stars that were still faint in the evening sky. BK-201 still shone as brightly as ever, as if mocking her with its mysteries.

"Maybe…" she pondered aloud, "It's time I stopped asking myself questions I can't answer."

Her gaze slowly shifted to the phone on her desk, and before she knew it she was dialing.

"Saito? My schedule just opened up. Where are we meeting?"


	2. Suou

"Suou, honey, are you awake yet?"

"Hmmm…what?" Suou attempted to open her eyes, but discovered that her eyelids immediately slid back down to their former positions. The struggle to keep them open felt to her like trying to walk up an escalator that was going down. And just like the escalator, the eyelids won out.

Her attempt at awakening having failed, Suou adjusted her body to be more comfortable for the coming sleep.

"Suou! You're going to be late!"

Her mother's words jolted Suou and her eyelids up. She could not afford to be late again.

"I'm awake!" she cried as she stumbled out of bed, nearly crashing to the floor in the process.

* * *

Fortunately for Suou, there was no need to hurry. The stars aligned, and in spite of her late start she made it to class with a full six minutes to spare.

"Whew," she breathed as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"So, you made it on time today, I see," her friend Mai remarked.

"Yep," Suou replied as she took her seat behind her.

"So, did you get the answer to number 4?"

"Number 4?" Suou asked, perplexed.

"Yeah, from the homework."

Suou's face paled.

"You didn't do it, did you?"

Suou shook her head.

"Oh jeez. The teacher is gonna have your head."

"I know…" Suou responded glumly. "And just when I thought this day was going to go well…"

At that moment, the teacher entered, and the students took their seats. However, Suou noticed one girl who did not take a seat. She was around Suou's age, but definitely not one of Suou's classmates. She would have remembered a girl with hair that light. Despite that, however, she couldn't shake the feeling that she knew her from somewhere.

"Class, we have a new student today, one who just moved here from Russia. Tanya, introduce yourself."

"Um, hi," the blond girl said anxiously. "Tanya is my name and looking forward to learning I am."

Half the class snickered, while several other students burst into outright laughter.

"Um…Is it something I said? Did I get the order wrong again?"

"Unfortunately, yes," the teacher confirmed.

"I'm sorry. I know almost all words, but syntax still confusing."

This drew a few more snickers.

"The next student who laughs will write a three page paper on the differences between the Russian and Japanese languages," the teacher snapped.

The class immediately became silent.

So this girl was Russian? Maybe that's what Suou found familiar. She was, after all, half-Russian herself.

"Oh, teacher!" Suou said as she raised her hand. "I can speak Russian. Maybe I could help her get used to things?"

"An excellent idea, Suou. Tanya, you can take the seat next to her."

"All right," Tanya said, before making her way to the vacant chair.

Time passed, and as class dragged on, Suou found herself daydreaming about everything and nothing at all. It was strange, almost as if there was a piece missing from the puzzle of her mind. She had always felt like this, though, and had gotten used to it. She had long since discovered that the best way to alleviate those feelings was to start drawing. So that's what she did. As always, she let her heart direct the pencil, rarely even looking at the paper.

"Who's that?" Tanya whispered.

"Hm? Oh, him?" Suou gestured at the paper without looking down. She didn't need to look to see what she had drawn. It was always the same person.

"Yeah. Who is he?"

"I don't know," Suou admitted. "I've never met him. But whenever I get bored, I always feel like drawing him. As if I know him somehow."

"That's…Weird," Tanya remarked. Then she blushed. "Oh, no, I don't mean it that way! I mean…"

Suou laughed. "No, it's all right. It is weird. And I don't know why I draw him either. Maybe, if I meet him someday, I can find out."

"Something you'd like to share with the class, Suou?" the teacher spoke out.

"What? Oh, no!" Suou scrambled to hide the drawing from the prying eyes of her classmates. "I was, um, explaining something to Tanya! She didn't get what you were saying."

"Oh? Well, does she understand now?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you," Tanya nodded.

"Very well, then. Now, then, Mai, please continue reading for us from page 105."

Suou breathed a sigh of relief, and silently decided not to draw any more during class. Well, for the rest of the day, at least.

* * *

Suou ended up showing Tanya around the school and explaining all the differences between how things worked in Japan as opposed to how they did in Russia. It turned out they shared several interests and got along very well.

"So, what's really nice about Japan is that it's so much warmer, so you can go swimming without- Hey, are you listening?"

"Mm? Oh, sorry," Tanya apologized.

Suou looked over to where she had been staring. There were several students that way, but it was instantly obvious to Suou who had caught Tanya's eye.

"Oh, him? His name is Nika. He moved here from Russia too. I don't really know him that well, though, because he's an upperclassman."

"Oh." Tanya looked disappointed.

"Hey, let's go introduce ourselves! I bet the two of you will get along great!" Suou grabbed Tanya's arm and pulled her over to him, ignoring all of her protests.

After a rather embarrassing introduction (for Tanya, that is), the two headed for home. As it turned out, they lived in the same neighborhood. It was almost as if things had been set up so that the two of them would become friends.

"Oh, you missed last week's episode? Well, magical girl Sniper went up against the golem monster. He was really tough 'cause he was made of concrete, but magical girl Sniper put a bullet right between his eyes and-"

Suou stopped mid-sentence.

"Hm? Is something wrong, Suou?"

She didn't answer. She was too busy staring transfixed at the man across the street. His dark hair matched his long black coat as he slid through the crowd like a ghost.

"Suou?"

A bus moved to block Suou's view, and when it finally moved a few seconds later, the man was gone. In a panic, Suou dropped her bookbag and rummaged through it until she found her drawing from earlier that day.

It was the same man.

"Suou!"

The sudden shaking motion on her shoulders brought Suou back to reality.

"What? What's wrong, Tanya?"

"You spaced out, Suou. What were you staring at?"

"I…saw him, Tanya. The man from my drawings. He…was right there." She pointed for emphasis.

"Seriously? Are you sure?"

"Yes." Suou smiled. "I knew it. He does exist."

"So…what now?" Tanya asked uncertainly.

"What else?" Suou replied. "I'm going to find him! Just you wait and see!"

Suou turned her eyes up towards the bright blue sky above her. Somewhere in this city was the man she had known her whole life without ever meeting. Now all she had to do was find him.


	3. Mao

Mao may have enjoyed being a cat for all those years, but being a squirrel had its advantages as well. For one thing, there was the dexterity. The ability to hold and grip things was something one could never fully appreciate unless they had lost it at some point.

So, when the commercials came on during the made-for-TV movie he was watching, Mao found himself excited at the prospect of being able to pick up the remote and actually change the channels.

Click.

"Drill her? I hardly knew 'er!"

Click.

"So, when you think of garbage, think of us!"

Click.

"Intelligence is like the penis bone; it only covers for other faults."

Click.

"From the insanity that brought you 'The Doll who drank too much' and 'The Doll that wanted sex' comes a non-Doll-related feature: 'Lolius Slappius: The Pimp Hand that Kills'!"

Click.

Mao sighed and shook his head. Dolls couldn't behave that way.

But then again, they couldn't cry, either. Or sort-of smile. Or do any of a dozen other things Yin had done. Maybe it was only a matter of time.

"Yin...I...Have to kill her," Hei's lamenting voice and piles of booze bottles entered Mao's mind.

Or maybe it had already happened.

"Yin...What happened to you? Where did Hei take you?"

Hei had said that he would kill Yin. So why didn't he electrocute her when his powers returned? Why did he do...Whatever it was he did? The lack of a body indicated that Yin was alive, but since Hei disappeared as well, there was no way to be sure.

Mao's ears and nose may not have been as sharp as a cat's, but they were more than sensitive enough to detect Oreille's approach long before she reached him.

"Hey, Ricardo!" she greeted loudly from behind him, intending to startle him.

"I told you to stop calling me that," Mao replied with hints of boredom and annoyance. "It's Mao now."

"Hmph, you're no fun," she replied as she sat down next to him on the cream-colored couch. "But, you know, if you're going to name yourself after the form you're taking, then I don't think 'Mao' applies any more either, do you? You're not a cat any more, remember?"

"I'll always be a cat," Mao explained. "Just as I'll always be a man."

"That's not very contractor-like of you, Mao."

"We now return you to 'The man who became a cat'," the television interjected.

The two fell into silence as they watched. The plot was oddly familiar. A man was turned into a cat by a curse, and he runs away from his family. Most of the movie's drama came from the conflicting objectives of the man (who believed his family to be better off without him) and his wife (who was searching for him to bring him home).

Mao's gaze turned to the woman sitting beside him. Their relationship had never been anything more than one of convenience. He had broken it off when he lost his body. So then, why did she save him? How did any of it benefit her? Even if she had loved him, he was certainly of no more use to her in the bedroom (or at least, he hoped not). So why?

"Honey… I can't go back," the man on the television said as the movie reached its climax. "No matter how much I want to. I can't support you and the kids any more. I can't kiss the children good night. I can't even sleep with you anymore! There's just…nothing left I can do to be a part of this family."

Family. That word made Mao think. Not about his biological relatives, of course (those he knew of were long deceased). But it did make him think of the people he had lost. Huang. Hei. Yin. Suou. July. They were the closest thing he ever had to a real family; the type that only the lucky and naïve could believe in. They were the only people who ever treated him as anything more than what he was; the only people who would carry him, or let him sit on their shoulders without reason, or show any sort of affection at all (no matter how dysfunctional it might have been).

But all that was gone now. The only person left who seemed to remember him as a man was the woman sitting beside him now.

"You think I care about any of those things?!" the wife of the main character nearly screeched. "I care about YOU. The children care about YOU. So what if you can't work anymore? I'll get a job! Jacob is already old enough to look after himself, and he's certainly capable of keeping Jimmy out of trouble!"

"Honey…"

"You don't HAVE to do any of those things to be a husband and a father. You just have to BE there. That's all the kids want. And it's all I want. No one could ever ask for anything more."

As the two characters embraced, Mao noticed a pair of blue orbs watching him out of the corner of his eye.

And finally, he understood.

"So, do you think they got it right?" Oreille asked with an expression of amusement as the credits began to roll.

"No," Mao lied. "After all, I'm a squirrel."

* * *

The author would like all of his readers to know that he is very sorry for using such shameless references of his other fics as one of the jokes in this chapter. However, the temptation to do so was far too great for him to resist. Once again, the author offers his apologies, even as he asserts that the joke was strictly necessary for comic relief, as is this paragraph.


	4. Hei

"Lemme guess; you've never seen a black woman before?"

"Huh?"

"There's no need to be embarrassed," the woman in question said as she waved her hand reassuringly. "It's not surprising, considering how strict your immigration policies are. You guys should really open your borders up more."

"Oh," the shocked young man said as he forced himself to regain his composure. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. Just quit staring, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am," Hei replied, allowing the masquerade to return, even as he wondered whether or not it was really necessary any more. "But I'm actually an immigrant myself."

She laughed. "Really? Where from? South Korea?"

"China," Hei corrected. "I've been here for about 3 years."

"3 years, huh? I just moved here last week, along with my family."

"Family?" Hei would not have been able to hide his surprise if he tried.

"Yes, my husband and son. We-"

"Mother."

The two turned to the new speaker. Hei recognized the young boy instantly.

"Yes, July?" his mother asked.

"Father is smoking again outside."

"So? I don't care, as long as he doesn't do it around us."

"He made us promise to stop him if he tried to smoke again, remember?" July pressed.

"All right, fine," she gave in, exasperated. "Just one more minute."

She turned to Hei. "I don't believe I got your name…"

"Li," Hei answered. "…But my friends call me Hei."

"April," she responded. "It was nice to meet you, Hei. See you around."

"Likewise," Hei smiled as April and July walked hand in hand towards the automatic doors and the coughing November 11th behind them.

The nervousness that came as a result of meeting someone he had once killed had still not worn off after Hei paid for his groceries and left, passing by the happy family as he walked.

"It was a joke, darling."

"So, you're telling me you bought cigarettes from a stand while my back was turned and lit them, just as a joke?"

"I told you, I'm trying to quit. Cigarette smoke contains-"

* * *

As Hei walked along the city sidewalks, his acute senses worked overtime, taking in every detail of the world around him. Everything from the blaring of the car horns to the aromas from the ramen stands was exactly as he remembered it. Even the old playground and Yin's shop were identical to Hei's recollections of them.

"Yin…" he whispered faintly as he passed by the construction site where he had once saved her life. It was the first time he had ever been that close to her.

Shaking off the memories before they fully mobilized, Hei continued walking, occupying himself with the rapidly darkening night sky. The real night sky.

The stars were out in full force by the time Hei neared home. On the real Earth, this had been one of the many safehouses he had set up across Japan. Somehow, it was still registered to him here on the copy Earth, even though no one knew him. It even had the backup equipment he left at every such place, though they were now as useless as his codename.

"Yin, I'm home," he announced half-heartedly as he opened the door of the run-down building that was as much of a shack as a house.

As expected, he received no response. After setting down the bags on the lone counter, Hei made his way over to the bed.

His eyes fell onto the young woman lying there. Yin was on her back in the same position Hei had left her in that morning. The pan of water on the bedside table was untouched. However, he could have sworn that the Braille message he had left next to it explaining things was originally a few more inches to the right…

No. His Mind was playing tricks on him again. He had been in this situation often enough to know better. If it wasn't the note or the water pan, it was the position she was in or something else that felt slightly off, even though Hei knew better. But try as he might to resist, he always found himself projecting his hopes onto this room and the comatose woman who inhabited it.

The edge of the bed sunk down slightly as Hei took a seat.

"I managed to find a job today," Hei began. "It's at a martial arts dojo."

The only response was the steady rise and fall of Yin's chest.

"I had to spar with the master to prove myself. He didn't put up a very good fight."

No reaction. Hei sighed and let his eyes wander about the mostly-empty room. He had never been very good at carrying a conversation, at least not when he was being himself.

In time, his gaze moved away from the bare essentials of appliances to the young woman next to him. He had never been put off by the silence before, but right now it was deafening.

Carefully, Hei shifted his weight and laid himself down next to Yin. Then, gently (as if afraid to disturb her), he put his arms around her frail form and held her close to him. The scent of her hair filled his nostrils.

That stunt he had pulled was a gamble. He wasn't sure if she would ever wake up. But he would wait as long as it took to find out.

He lightly kissed her forehead and tightened his hold on her until he could feel her heartbeat against his midsection. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn that it was heightened.

As the Black Reaper drifted off to sleep with the woman he loved, he didn't notice when down by his chest, a pale hand twitched.

* * *

Author's Note: In real life, when someone recovers from a coma, they don't do so instantaneously; they regain consciousness for a few minutes at a time at first, and then these periods of wakefulness gradually get longer.


End file.
